Traffic-control system



July 3, 1928.

C. B. FOLEY rmmc common SYSTEM Filed Sept. 1, 1927 INVENTOR Charles ,B. f

3% mm P ATTORNEY Patented July 3, 1928.

UNITED STATES CHARLES B. FOLEY, OF FORT WAYNE, INDIANA.

TRAFFIC-CONTROL SYSTEM.

Application filed September This invention relates generally to the control of highway or street traflic at road crossings and intersections, but is more particularly designed to cause a slowing down 6 of high speed trafiic when approaching railroad grade crossings so as to ensure the road vehicles being under control before they actually reach the railroad crossing.

To this end the invention comprises a 10 suitable arrangement of narrow yielding barriers set in or near the roadway on either side of the railroad crossing, the appearance of which barriers will have a psychological effect on the normal driver in influencing him to slow down the speed of his car when approaching the crossing, in order that he may steer the slightly tortuous course necessary to surely avoid said barriers, while permitting the reckless or unobservant driver to run over them without substantial injury to himself, his car or the barrier. The invention also contemplates the employment of sections of wider roadbed with or without adjacent barriers to avoid the likelihood of the swerving car overrunning the edge of the roadway, a

tendency of that nature having developed in other systems which require or suggest such a tortuous course to the driver, and the providing of a free and normal amount of road space for the getaway of the car after it has crossed the railway track.

In the features above described this invention is designed to provide certain improvements over the arrangement disclosed in Patent No. 1,248,913, granted to Ralph R. Reed, December 4, 1917.

The best arrangement of apparatus at present known to me for carrying out my invention is illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a set of railroad tracks crossing a section of a highway equipped with my invention, parts being broken away, and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail perspective view showing a deflecting curb section for the roadway.

Throughout the drawings like reference characters indicate like parts. 1 represents a section of an ordinary State highway, usually having a road surface paved with concrete or asphalt, eighteen feet wide. 2 is a section of railway tracks crossing said high way. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are swinging barrier structures, usually not over two feet wide at 1, 1927. Serial No. 216,839.

their bases, set in the middle of the roadway at proper distances from the tracks 2. Usually the inner barriers 5 and 6 are placed about ninety feet from the tracks and the outer barriers 3 and 4 about eighty feet further away.

As the barriers 3, 4, 5 and 6 reduce the width of free roadway available to vehicles by about two feet, I add a section of paving one foot in width at each side of the roadway along, and slightly beyond them, as shown at 7, 8, 13 and 14. Preferably, however, the broadened sections do not extend across the railway track 2.

To further ensure the vehicle approaching the crossing on either side adopting the desired slightly tortuous course indicated by the broken line arrows 1111, or 1212, I place diagonally arranged sections of curbing 9 and 10 at the right sides of the roadway adjacent the outer barriers 3 andl, but somewhat further away from the railway tracks, than are these outer barriers. These curb sections may be made of concrete each about eight inches square in cross section and about ten feet long. About half the length of each such curved barrier should overlap the paved portion of the roadway. with their inner tips about one foot inside the edge of said paving. The barriers 3, 4, 5 and 6 usu ally stand about five feet high each, with downwardly swinging panels about eighteen inches wide painted white, or having highly polished metal surfaces, to reflect the suns rays or the headlights glare. They are preferably constructed as shown in my pending application Serial No. 215,028, filed August 24, 1927, so as to swing down when overrun. The curb barriers 9 and 10 are painted white also.

The mode of operation of the apparatus so far described is obviously as follows: A driver approaching from the left (Fig. 1) will see the gleaming barriers 3, and 5 from a. considerable distance and also notice the curb barrier 9 soon afterwards. An ordinarily careful driver will thereupon slow down because of the mental embarrassment caused by the development of apparent obstructions, even if he is a stranger to the locality and unaware of the existence of the railroad crossing. If he is familiar with the railway crossing, the barriers will still force him to slow down in approaching it, unless he is reckless enough to risk banging his mud guards or hubs caps against barriers 3 and. 5. as he gets near the crossing. the necessity ot weaving his way around and between curb barrier J and outer swinging barrier 3, it' he is to safely avoid both, becomes apparent and he will further slow down to accomplish this. As he may not have slowed down enough to be able to straighten out his course at and after the passage o't' barrier 23 to prevent his right hand wheels running ot'f a road pave ment of standard width at that point. I add the pavement extension 7, and. to produce a psychological inhibition against running oti even this widened roadway section. I prefer to install another swinging barrier 3 or 4 at the edge of the right hand, widened portion of the rmidway approximately opposite such outer swinging barrier. As a result of the gradual slowing down of the car thus initiated and persisted in, and the continued mental embarrassment caused by the desire to also run safely by the inner barrier 5 and swing back into the narrower roadway section beyond it, extending over tracks 2, the driver will have his car well under control before reaching the said railway tracks, and so have ample time to hear and heed the automatic danger signal usually installed there, or the noise of any approaching train.

As soon as a driver has crossed the tracks 2, he has free passage by barriers 6 and 4 by reason of the roadbed side extension 14, and can speed up as rapidly as he desires or dares, to resume his journey.

Cars approaching from the right (Fig. 1) will similarly have to negotiate barriers 10, 4, 4 and 6. and can run along roadbed extensions 8 and 13 in doing so, as above described with rcterencc to cars approaching from the left.

The importance of a t'tording the additionat road surfaces 7 and 8 has been evidenced by the fact that on systems heretofore in stalled without this feature loaded trucks have sometimes overrun the edges of the pavement in avoiding barriers 3 and 4 and have had to be partially unloaded before they could be worked back onto the roadway.

Practical tests-' ot a system of railway crossing approa hes of this general character installed on a national highway at a railway crossing. on a straight, level piece ot roadbed over which cars usually run at forty to titty miles an hour have shown that. the average driver will reduce speed to about twenty miles an hour in negotiating his way through such barrier system and before he reaches the railway tracks.

\Vhile I have illustrated and described one specific embodiment of my invention as applied to a railway crossing, it is to be understood that it also includes the application of structures involving the same principle to intersecting or crossing highways along both of which high speed motor traflic may flow.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a yielding barrier system for rail way and highway grade crossings and inter sections, the combination, with a paved highway of generally uniform width, and an intersecting thoroughfare, of a narrow yielding barrier set in the center of the highway at a su table distance from the said point of intersection, means for inducing vehicles traveling toward said intersect-ion to adopt a slightly tortuous course when approaching and passing said barrier, and a. laterally extending st rip of pavement continued along and beyond said barrier sutficient in area to maintain an effective half width of pavement surface opposite and beyond said barrier at least equal to the normal half width of said pavement at points more remote from said intersection.

2. A combination such as defined in claim 1 in which said pavement extension is not continued all the way to said intersection or crossing.

3. A system such as defined in claim 1 combined with a second, yielding barrier set at the edge of said pavement extension.

4. A system such as defined in claim 1 combined with a second, yielding barrier set at the edge of said pavement extension and approximately opposite said first mentioned barrier.

5. A system such as defined in claim 1 combined with a similar additional barrier set in the center of the highway and nearer to said intersection or crossing.

6. A system such as defined in claim 1 combined with a similar additional barrier set in the center of the highway and nearer to said intersection or crossing and in which said pa vement extension is continued beyond said additional barrier.

7. system such as defined in claim 1 combined with a similar additional barrier set. in the center of the highway and nearer to said intersection or crossing and in which said pavement extension is continued bey nd said additional barrier but is not continued to said intersection or crossing.

8. A combination su h as defined in claim 1 in which said means t'or inducing approaehing vehicles to take a slightly tortuous course comprises a diagonally placed curb barrier slightly overlapping the pavement edge and located further away from said intersection or crossing than is said yielding barrier.

9. A combination such as defined in claim 1 in which said means for inducing appreaching vehicles to take a slightly tortuous course comprises a diagonally placed curb barrier slightly overlapping the pavement edge and located further away from said intersection or crossing than is'said yielding barrier and pointing toward said yielding barrier.

10. A combination such as defined in claim 1 in which said means for inducing approaching vehicles to take a slightly tortuous course comprises a diagonally placed curb barrier slightly overlapping the pavement edge and located further away from said intersection or crossing than is said yielding barrier, said curb barrier consisting of a block of concrete about eight inches square in cross section and about ten feet long, and overlapping said pavement edge about one foot.

11. In a yielding barrier system for rail- 'ay and highway grade crossings and inter sections, the combination, with a paved highway of generally uniform width. and an intersecting thoroughfare, of two narrow, yielding barriers set approximately on the center line of said highway on either side of said intersection or crossing and spaced away therefrom at substantially equal distances, means for inducing vehicles travelling toward said intersection to adopt a slightly tortuous course when approaching and passing the barrier then first encoun rered, and laterally extending strips of pavemcnt continued along and slightly beyond all said barriers and on both sides thereof suflicient in area to maintain an effective half width of pavement surface opposite and beyond each such barrier at least equal to the normal half width of said pavement at points. more remote from said intersection, whereby the driver of a vehicle approaching said intersection or crossing is influenced to reduce speed before reaching it but has a clear, straight roadway of normal effective width in which to make his getaway from said intersection.

12. A combination such as defined in claim 11 in which said pavement extensions terminate before reaching said intersection or crossing.

CHARLES B. FOLEY. 

